Fearless in the Mountains
Document moments that make you feel most alive.
In November, I traveled to Georgia to celebrate my best friend David finish hiking the Appalachian trail and see his sister, Ash, get married. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I was in absolute awe, but it took me a little longer to realize the overall affect it had on me and my growth.
David hiked the Appalachian trail from June to November. His sister, her fiance, and him hiked 2200 miles over six months. In college, it was always his dream to hike the trail and less than two years later he accomplished this.
I am so beyond proud of him and blessed to have badass friends who follow their passion.
David and I before the wedding ceremony at the top of Springer Mountain.
Being able to celebrate not only them completeing the trail, but his sister getting married to the love of her life made it a truly magical weekend.
The entire wedding party stayed at Forrest Hills Mountain Resort, which was about an hour from Springer Mountain, where they were getting married.
Our private porch. So peaceful and with a beautiful view of leaves falling down.
On the wedding day we headed to Springer Mountain. The resort and the mountain are only 14 miles from each other, but from the steady incline of 4000 feet up the mountain, it takes about an hour by car. You are driving for about 10 miles going 5 miles per hour. For us it took much longer ...
We (My Mom and I) carpooled with the fathers of the bride and groom. The drive started out great, beautiful views, and great conversation. When we were about 3/4 up the mountain the car started to stop and would no longer move.
My mom and I decided to walk for a little bit when this happened.
A few minutes later they got the car working. They started moving up the hill and forgot to come back and get us. My mom, father of the groom, and myself were stranded on the mountain. It was an unforgettable experience. After about 10 minutes of walking they finally discovered no one came back for us.
This is the moment the car came back to get us and they had to do a three-point turn. That path behind my mom is the road.
A few years ago my mom told me ‘fear’ is false evidence appearing real. When she is feeling a little fearful I always ask her, “what is fear?” Then she’ll repeat the mantra back to me. If you ask yourself this it will help you rememeber that everything will be okay and to not let fear hold you back.
After we got to the beginning of the trail there was still about 400 feet left to go by foot. It was such a beautiful view, not only the walk up, but the top of the mountain as well. [Fun Fact: Ash hiked up this part in flip flops.] When I made it to the top, David said “What took so long? I know it wouldn’t take you that long to walk.” I laughed and told him we got stranded.
David was officiating the wedding and had to write a speech with it. He wrote it when he arrived on top of the mountain, in five minutes. It was so beautiful, I cried reading it.
“So as you take your last step off this journey and your first step on the next ...”
The beautiful bride and groom standing in front of the Appalachian Trail Plaque.
Before and after the wedding Ash’s friends sang. It was my mom's favorite part. They sang “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at the beginning of the ceremony.
After the wedding was the reception. It was absolutely beautiful. During the wedding speeches all the friends they made on the trail (who also completed the hike that weekend) went around the room and talked about how much Ash and Jay (her fiance) impacted their journey positively. One hiker, Walker, was really impacted by Ash's light. There was an ice storm on the trail and he was feeling like he couldn't complete the trail on day one. Ash's smile and wave helped push him forward and assured him that he can do it. That was my favorite part. It was such a beautiful moment to experience, all these strangers who met each other on the trail, and became a family celebrating their accomplishment and Ash/Jay's love.
Beautiful Ash. So much joy and love in this photo.
Seeing David and Ash was one of my favorite moments of this year. I not only got to celebrate their huge badass accomplishment with them, but also be there for the next step in Ash’s life.
When I was at a leadership event in college the speaker said “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” I remember telling that to David and he thought it was a little harsh. Now a few years later, I get it. Leaving that weekend I felt so inspired to not only follow my dreams, but to continue pushing myself outside my comfort zone because when you do beautiful things happen. So thank you David for being a badass and my friend. Thank you for introducing me to your amazing equally badass sister last year. Knowing you both changes my life for the better.
[P.S. If you're wanting to learn more about their thru hike and see photos you can follow them on Instagram: David (@michaeldavid209) and Ash (@its_ashbear).]